Extended Supervision Orders to be expanded

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says
that legislation is to be introduced which will allow
Extended Supervision Orders (ESOs) for child sex offenders
to be expanded beyond their current maximum ten-year time
frame for those who pose a high risk of serious
reoffending.

ESOs will also be extended to include the
management of high risk sex offenders and very high risk
violent offenders.

The first ten-year ESOs handed down to
child sex offenders are scheduled to run out in 2015, after
which, under the current system, Corrections will have no
ability to manage these offenders in the community.

Under
the new enhanced system, the ESOs could be renewed for as
long as they are needed, with regular mandatory review by
the courts.

“We want to do as much as we can to keep our
communities safe and to protect the public from harm,”
says Mrs Tolley.

“Corrections need to be able to
continue the management of a small number of high risk child
sex offenders for as long as necessary beyond the ten-year
limit, and this legislation will enable that.

“It will
also allow us to expand the scope of ESOs to include a small
number of high risk sex offenders against adults, as well as
very high risk violent offenders.

“If these offenders
still pose a risk at the end of a sentence or order, then
Corrections needs the ability to manage them
appropriately.”

An ESO is made by the court under
application from Corrections for a term of up to ten years
for offenders who have reached the end of their sentence.
The Parole Board then imposes special conditions relating to
the offender’s management, for example relating to
residence, employment, association and exclusion zones under
GPS tracking.

With legislative change, courts would be
able to renew orders on an ongoing basis, if warranted, and
Corrections will be able to apply to the court to impose a
new order at any time for child sex offenders, with
mandatory review by the courts every five years.

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